Justin Thomas only recently returned to PGA Tour action after undergoing back surgery in November.
Thomas not only missed the cut in his first event back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago, but his two rounds of 79 ensured that he finished dead last in the field.
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However, the 32-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, turned things around in his second event back at The Players Championship last week, finishing in a tie for 8th after shooting two 68s followed by a pair of 72s.
Thomas is still one of the biggest names on the PGA Tour, despite the fact that he has only won once since his PGA Championship triumph in May 2022.
Despite his lack of wins, the American is still one of the fiercest competitors in professional golf.
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Thomas was proud of his top-10 finish at The Players, and rightly so given how he performed the week before at Bay Hill.
However, Thomas has admitted to struggling with his focus since returning to competitive action on the PGA Tour.
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Justin Thomas confirms his plans ahead of ‘crazy’ PGA Tour schedule
The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook will be Thomas’ final leg of a three-week run of golf where he has already played at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass.
That’s challenging enough in itself, but what’s coming up next month and beyond will be even more challenging.
Thomas was asked how his body is feeling right now, having played two events in a row since returning to competitive action after undergoing back surgery four months ago.
“Right now I feel fine. I’m a little tired, to be honest,“ the 32-year-old admitted.
“Last two weeks — it was really funny. In the physio room on Monday, I went in there and it was very quiet. It’s usually very loud, because it’s a lot of banter and BS going on in there. But everybody just looked like crap, to be honest. Myself included.
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“I just kind of said, I was like, man, it’s quiet in here. And Andrew Novak was on the table and said, Yeah, probably because we got our faces kicked in these last two weeks.
“So, you know, first thing I thought of is, what are we going to be like in the end of May or that stretch of Augusta, RBC, Miami, Quail Hollow, PGA. Like it’s just a crazy, crazy amount of not only big tournaments, but extremely difficult golf courses. And that’s kind of what you’re running into here.
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“So I think it’s going to be really, really important for me personally to mentally just, you know, recognizing that, and not forcing the issue or not making any mental mistakes out there. Because, you know, that’s the thing, at least it is for me.
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“So just trying to rest as often as possible and just manage my way around.“
Starting at Augusta National, the best players in the world will embark on a ridiculously challenging schedule.
Challenging PGA Tour schedule awaits Justin Thomas and co
The Masters is followed by a Signature Event immediately after on Hilton Head Island.
There is then somewhat of a break as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.
Then things get really interesting. There are two consecutive Signature Events in Florida at the Cadillac Championship and then in North Carolina at the Truist Championship.
Incredibly, those events are followed by the PGA Championship at Aronimink in Philadelphia.
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The players will be physically and mentally shot after playing so many tough golf courses in consecutive weeks.
However, fans will be salivating over the prospect of seeing so many great tournaments in such a short stretch of time.
It will be a balancing act for the players, who will need to conserve their energy as best they can.
Also, as Thomas said, it will be vitally important that they don’t beat themselves up too much on the golf course.
The next six weeks or so on the PGA Tour could be one seriously exciting ride for both the players and the fans.
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